MARK YATES revealed Kidderminster Harriers' man-of-the-match Gavin Hurren had to be told to calm down before cranking up the excitement of a possible trip to Wembley.

MARK YATES revealed Kidderminster Harriers' man-of-the-match Gavin Hurren had to be told to calm down before cranking up the excitement of a possible trip to Wembley.

Midfield dynamo Hurren rammed in the opening goal of Harriers' 2-0 first-leg semi-final win against visitors Northwich Victoria, which gives the Aggborough men a fighting chance of booking a May 13 final date at the new #700million home of English football.

Manager Yates said: "There's always a bubbliness about Gavin but he was on the edge before the game and we had to rein him in a little bit.

"He desperately wanted to score the goal that took Kidderminster to Wembley. It's great he scored the first goal but he knows as much as everybody else that there's a long way to go."

Playing in front of Harriers' biggest crowd of the season, former Nottingham Forest trainee Hurren had already had two long-range sighters on Vics' goal before he pounced on 38 minutes, lashing home his fifth goal of the season after Mark Creighton's twice-blocked snap-shot landed at his feet 14 yards from goal.

It signalled a Harriers purple patch and James Constable rifled in his 12th goal of the season in first-half injury time after Simon Russell had created panic in the visitors' defence.

Yates admitted his side scored the goals at the right time, when they had seized the initiative with some bright and breezy passing. But he saluted a positive team display and warned they will need to raise the standard again for the return at the Victoria Stadium on Saturday before Harriers can celebrate a fourth appearance in the Trophy final.

"I thought everybody played their part," he said. "The team spirit and work ethic really showed through."